Give feedback on possible expansion of Healthy Christchurch

Healthy Christchurch has a great opportunity to expand – we want to work together to figure out what’s next. Healthy Greater Christchurch?

The Greater Christchurch Partnership identified Healthy Christchurch as a lead for the ‘Health and Communities’ stream of the Urban Development Strategy, along with the Selwyn and Waimakariri District Councils. This means we have an opportunity to formally strengthen and expand our network and enhance its regional relevance.

Help Healthy Christchurch decide what's next

We are convening an Interim Group with a life of about 6 to 8 months to help answer this question. We expect that some of the signatories previously involved with the Healthy Christchurch Advisory Group will participate. We’ll also involve the Selwyn and Waimakariri District Councils to explore how they would like to engage.

We’re organising an Interim Group because the Healthy Christchurch Advisory Group has not met formally for a while. Instead many of the Advisory Group participants have been providing support and input into the new structures around the Resilience Plan and the Urban Development Strategy. Now that those structures are taking form under the Greater Christchurch Partnership, we’re eager to look at how all of the mahi will connect.

Get in touch with Healthy Christchurch if you are interested in contributing by Friday 31st March 2017 (healthychristchurch[at]cdhb.health.nz).

You’ll have more opportunities to contribute as the Interim Group progresses with its responsibilities.

How Healthy Christchurch might change going forward

In some ways Healthy Christchurch is already a regional network. Signatories include grassroots community initiatives through to region-wide or even nation-wide organisations. One of the Healthy Christchurch strategic priorities focuses on the recovery/rebuild of greater Christchurch - we all know health and wellbeing don’t stop at lines on a map anyway!

The Interim Group will formalise a decision about whether to expand the network or not. The group will also be tasked with: developing a Terms of Reference for the next Advisory Group, developing a high-level work programme, and continuing to engage with signatories throughout its processes.

Like the existing initiative, an expanded network would still:

lead new projects,

be a vehicle for communication and consultation with communities, and

provide a mechanism to be voice at decision making tables around the region.